A Tactic Too Short
by Keili
Summary: FFT Ripoff... bleh. Most people don't find the game too fun, but I assure you that the story will be.
1. Chapter 1

**A "Tactic" Too Short.**

(Narrator's notes: )

Welcome to my first attempt at a story about a video game (besides Pokémon, as you all know I love). I'm sorry if you happen to be getting sick of me re-using my canon characters again and again in different scenarios, but I'm just trying to find out what the best type of tale would be to introduce them to the world. Whether you're familiar with them or not, I can tell you now that the process of development involved with each of them has become so long and arduous that I daren't let them go. Each one'll be a part of me, probably for the rest of my life. I hope you grow to love them just as much as I do.

Yep, this is a rip-off of FFT (for all of you who're no good with acronyms, that's Final Fantasy Tactics), and though I've used some canon characters as mentions, they're not an active part of the story—yet—so if you were looking for something warping your very view of Final Fantasy as you know it, I'm afraid you're outta luck. If you're looking for an involving story full of gore and intrigue, you've come to the right place.

Oh, and might I warn those who're not used to the way I swing with my guys—yes, there will be some hinting at yaoi, but for all of those who're anal about types of romance, it's nothing graphic or involved. If you want THAT, you'll have to wait for a different sort of series :3 Kae has them. Just ask. But this one will _not _be a romantic tale of any sort, so don't get your hopes up. Romances are all too easy to write—I'm looking for the biggest challenge out there—to write a non-romantic novel that'll still hold peoples' interest. Satisfied? Then read.

**Chapter #1**

_There's a famous saying: You can't judge a book by its cover. It takes people longer than they might ever imagine to really figure that out. Whether they know it or they truly believe it, it reigns true of anyone. How they look might be the farthest thing from who they are._

_I found that out when I enlisted to be a part of the Lion War—or, at least, that had been my original intent. Things don't always turn out the way you'd like them to. Oh, not that I'm complaining now—but it would've been nice to know what I'd be going up against when I tagged up with a bunch of ragtag renegades who, unusually enough, turned out to be assassins._

When they told me I'd been hired, I was ecstatic! No more waiting in the recruiting office! No more boring, drawn-out days playing chess with the other soldiers! No more office! Yeah, I know I said that already—that was just how much I wanted to get OUT of there!

Now, some might tell you that a Cancer is a wishy-washy personality—that they'd rather run from a fight than charge right in—but I'll let you in on one thing: we're _not_. I was just as eager to face up against a Dragon or a Chocobo as any of the knights in this place… it was just the Cancerian rumor that had everyone else getting picked but me. Honest! I wanted nothing better than to fight! It was a blessing, the day this wayward pack of soldiers staggered in, in full dress according to their jobs, looking for an addition like little ol' me.

Now, what I thought was strange about these fellows was, firstly, that they seemed to be an all-male team… two older gents accompanying three younger soldiers with a slew of monsters perched calmly in the lobby. Wait… _monsters?_ What were these nutcases thinking? One of those things could probably turn on them at any minute, and they'd never know what happened! But no… a great big Red Dragon just lay obediently at a small man's side (or was he a boy? He appeared to be awfully young, but there was hair on his face…), while a great black Behemoth began to nudge at one of them almost… playfully. They must've had a tamer in their midst! My lord, those beasts were huge! Of course… those were just what had caught my eye first. In the background on the other side of one of the older men was a beast I'd only heard about once in training—a Sacred… a gigantic violet Minotaur said to have unmentionable power. I began to think to myself: what was I getting myself into, thinking about facing these things?

"What's your name?"

Huh? Had I been addressed? ME?

"Yes, you there—with the shocked look on your face," the shortest-set of them confirmed, a rather mysterious smile adorning his almost catlike face. "Tell me, soldier—what's your alias?"

I was at my feet in a split second. "R-Riles McPherson, sir!"

"Aw, you were right," one of the pale-skinned lads in a Knight's cape admitted to a shorter man in Wizard's robes. "His name _was _closer to 'Ryan'."

"What'd Ah tell ya'?" the stockier man asked, a dark Scottish brogue tinting a powerful voice. Though he wasn't completely hidden from view like a normal Black Mage might be, he was mostly shaded by his cloak and hat, and I couldn't make out his appearance. All I could see was a long, trailing braid of bronze hair hanging at his ankles. "Now pay up."

Ehh… whaaat? They'd been making a… a bet? On what my _name _was? Now _tell _me that wasn't ALL they'd come here for! That would just be an insult! I mean, who in their right mind just _parades _into the soldier's office with a slew of dangerous-looking beasts just to make a mockery of some poor, unwitting Squire?

The smallest of them began to laugh a bit softly as some gold was exchanged between the hands of the Knight and the Mage. "Ignore them," he told me assuringly. "That's not the point of why we came here." He seemed to glance back at them, and they froze as the mage swept his hand back under his cloak. "Is it?"

Though the small man was calm, the two seemed to know he was serious—neither of them made any smart remarks, and the Knight even shook his head in shameful response.

"Good." The short man stated this with that same level-headedness, but there was still something intimidating about him. Perhaps the bold red hair was a bit unsettling, but I couldn't quite place just why he seemed to have reign over the rest of them. "We're here to hire—and Riles? I believe you've just made the cut."

"Yes, sir!" I replied to the groans of the rest of those who'd been watching in anticipation to see just what these weirdoes were up to. Though they were bountifully provided with any soldier they could ever dream of training into something useful, they'd chosen me! Hallelujah! I was almost just happy enough to start dancing! O-of course, I'd leave that to a real Dancer… I was no good at it. There were female Squires who spoke of someday becoming Dancers… but I was perfectly content just to be able to leave this place and all its monotony. Goodbye, stone walls! Goodbye, man-at-the-counter-signing-my-name! Goodbye, fellow soldiers who didn't get picked! Today was my day to shine.

As soon as the paperwork was done, the smallest one swept a hand toward him, coaxing me onward. He wasn't much of a talker, even though he had a fine voice. He seemed to be the perfect warrior, if not for his height—long, thick hair and the beginnings of a beard (it was just a goatee, perhaps shaved for style), wild, fearless eyes and a calm, demure decorum. Well, thinking on that, his only handicap seemed to _be _his unfortunate size, and contrarily, that probably would've made him quick. He seemed to be a mage of sorts… but I couldn't really tell, besides the wise look to his eye. He wasn't dressed in specific regalia, so he really could've been anything. I followed him at a distance, even though the rest of them were almost literally flanking him. He was the citadel, it looked like… perhaps they were all simply guarding him.

Nevertheless, I had no obligations keeping in step with them. Once they were outside, I felt my adventure had almost begun… but it wasn't until I saw three different varieties of Chocobo perched calmly in waiting for them that I truly thought this could end up being worthwhile. I stood agape next to the doors when I was roughly shoved aside by a Vampire, who jostled me out of my daydream and into the outskirts of reality again. I wasn't _quite _about to believe everything just yet… but it was all starting to look pretty favorable. With a team like this on my side, how could we lose?

I stood back as the rather small one stepped up to the Red Chocobo, and the Black Mage followed him, kneeling down so that the short man could use him as something of a step up to his mount. I began to notice that this magic-user seemed to be very broad, if not quite so tall. He wasn't the next in line to be considered minute in any way, but the knight and one of the more seasoned soldiers (an Oracle, from the looks of it) could've easily dwarfed him in sheer height alone. Actually, the Oracle seemed not to raise _any_ controversy… _he _was the largest, by default.

The Knight was next to mount, but he was able to reach the Black Chocobo's back with quite a bit more ease than the small-statured mage. A brunette with his own hair kept at a medium length and unusually luring eyes, in the cloak and heavy armor of a castle guard… it almost seemed a bit peculiar, what with the lad's rather scrawny neck. In fact, I thought that the brutish-looking Wizard should've switched jobs with him—the two were very awkward-looking as what they were training to be.

Really, the only one who looked at _all _the part was one of the elderly warriors. Though the fine lines on his face gave him dignity and age, his easy build and curling golden-blond hair made him look quite capable of holding his own. He was a Mediator—a class I'd heard little about, but the main highlight was easily the fact that they could invite monsters to join a party…

"So he's the one who lured all these beasts in…" I muttered to myself in awe, freezing dead when the swift, threatening steps of the cloaked wizard drew him in front of me. Once he was close enough, it was easy to see that he towered over me—okay, so I wasn't so tall—and he easily equaled the mass of three of me! I tried to look beneath the hat, but all I could see was a pair of glaring eyes digging past the surface and into my very mind, surely burrowing about for some kind of compensation as I stood there stupidly, poised to run. When he'd finally stopped glowering and a spark in those cold eyes changed him, I could see that they were fawn… a rather delicate color for such a brute.

"Ai lay claims ta' the cat, the bull, an' the beast," he corrected me, that thick Scottish drawl making it difficult for him to say "I". "Th' ol' man got th'dragon, an' the li'le one go' the bird," he further explained, finding it somewhat difficult to pronounce his words if they had consonants in them… well, at least he was pointing at everything so that I knew what he was talking about. "Th'bird made more birds," he ended dryly, pointing to my chest, now. "Ge' i' straight."

I nodded in response to all this, simply obliging him, seeing as he could probably _easily _snap me in half. As soon as he turned around and stalked away, I felt my clenched muscles relax again, and I let out a breath of relief. He… didn't seem to talk too much, either. He spoke clearly as he could, I guess, but with such a heavy slur, I guess it was embarrassing to speak all that often… so I could understand his silence. Of course, then again, the rest of them seemed pretty cold to me, too… I wondered just what adding me to their team must've meant. The redhead had his mystery around him, but he had seemed friendly enough, if not talkative. The Knight appeared to be stoic and rather noble, despite his unusual frame—but he just seemed to be alien to me, seeing as I didn't really have the gall to speak to him just yet. Frankly, the Oracle _frightened _me, so I wasn't about to try my luck if there was a Black Mage pushing me around already. That, and he looked about as reticent as they come… climbing atop the back of the dragon, shaded beneath his own robes and having obscured his face with the wrappings that would've normally made his hat, he had that mummy-like anonymity, and I didn't want to chance that he might be hostile. The Mediator? Well, maybe. His electric blue eyes were battle-worn, but he simply looked wise and experienced; weathered with his travels… he didn't look fierce in any way just yet.

So this was my team, was it? I hope they didn't all hate me. I didn't like to be the odd man out, but I suppose I'd have to earn the respect of all these traveled rogues before they'd welcome me as one of their own. The last to mount was the old man in the red robes, atop the final, common-colored Chocobo… the Black Mage turned to look at me again, his eyes still sharp with that foreign sort of reprimand. "We're walkin'," he explained quickly, likely meaning both myself and him as 'we'. Well, if he didn't, and he was going to hitch a ride, then he'd be lying, right? He hadn't seemed the dishonest type—simply… fearsome. Intimidation was quite a favorable tactic for someone so very large… and he was certainly no exception.

I felt myself compelled to tail them, trotting up to the departing team and nervously falling into ranks behind and to the left side of the Mage in his medium blue robes. It had seemed like such an escape at first, but I was having my doubts with the way they were treating me. Maybe I'd have to earn my keep, but I hoped that it wouldn't take long… this silence was killing me.

"Tell me, soldier," the leader's voice began, his smooth tone giving him an affable sort of attitude. As soon as I snapped to attention, he continued. "Now, why do you think you've been chosen over all the other candidates in that place?"

I was a bit taken aback by the question… was I supposed to know? "I-I don't rightly know, sir…"

"Answer th'question," the Scotsman shot back at me, scarcely even turning back as much as a finger to make me certain that it was me he was talking to.

"Please—" the redhead stated backwards, getting a bit of a pouting reaction from his Mage. "When I ask you a question, I'd like at least some kind of an answer. 'I don't know' doesn't get us anywhere in particular, does it?"

I rather liked his much more laid-back tone, but he almost seemed to be a little snide. I mean, surely, he knew more than I did… but the way he was asking me such a simple question with such a wide variable for answer, it was almost insulting. "Well," I began, trying my best to think of something. "Because… I was the most eager to get out of there?"

He laughed a little, but it wasn't any huffing, 'you're-an-idiot'-type laugh. "Not quite," he assured, his voice somewhat hushed.

"What, was it destiny or something like that?" I queried of him next, hoping to possibly get a rise out of one or two of them. Nothing. That was my response.

"Perhaps," the short man answered mysteriously. "But not what I was thinking of."

I shook my head. "I can't say… that's all I can think of."

He seemed to smile a little, walking his Chocobo at an even pace with the large-set Mage. "Well, you've a lot to learn, then. We'll have to start avoiding battles if we can," he thought aloud. "If you can't even explain why you're here, then what makes you so sure you're ready for combat?"

Well, alright, I was a little insulted by that statement. "Sir, I've gone through all the training exercises a million times. I've simulated combat more instances than I can count—I've read every book at least once in every class!"

"Piepe dewn," the Black Mage hissed at me.

"Ahem!" the redhead barked at him again, glaring down at his companion. The Mage simply swept himself more deeply into his cloak, bowing his head and glaring at the ground as he walked. "I can handle this," he assured his rather large cohort. A little grumble escaped him, but I couldn't make it out—maybe it'd been in fluent Scottish, but I couldn't hear it to begin with, so I couldn't rightly tell. "There is nothing in 'classes' and 'simulation' that will prepare you for the real thing," he assured gravely. "Have you ever had to take another man's life?"

I shook my head no.

"It is the single _worst _job you'll ever have to do," he stated seriously. "To stare a man in the eye as your equal who has fought with honorable valor… and to have to slit his throat, so that he never again will see the blessed light of day." Well, when ya' put it that way… "Not only that, but to think of what life you have taken—to wonder just what this man will be leaving behind to be forcefully rendered to an obligatory afterlife for the remains of eternity. Nothing will _ever _prepare you for that." His normally laughing eyes looked down on me with something almost akin to pity… perhaps he was right to have to pity me—because with his smooth, well-spoken explanation, he was making me somewhat sick already. Guilt was something I hadn't really expected to feel in the midst of an adventure… conscience not something I'd been wanting to think about. If there were repercussions to a boy; a _Squire _wanting to become a hero, he had not shielded them from me. And though he'd been a little piquing at first, I could easily understand just _why _he was holding this over my head. He'd been there and seen it—battle, killing, scrounging for means of compensation in food and coin… likely, he was really trying to _warn _me.

_And truth be told, I still thank him for that._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter #2**

I kept on walking after he'd said that to me, thinking over just whether I had made the right choice in embarking on this expedition. I didn't regret doing _something _with my life… but to think that I might've just unknowingly made myself into a killer…

"It's a daunting prospect, isn't it?"

I heard his voice, but it caught me _very _off-guard. I hadn't expected him to be able to make it any worse after what he'd just said to me. Of course, that wasn't how it went… it got worse.

"Now, people don't usually take much conscience into mind when they're killing monsters… you know that as well as I do—if it threatens your life and does not resemble you, you can easily dispose of it, right?" I wasn't sure whether to nod, so I let him go on. "Nature is cutthroat enough _without _us interfering… but still, we interfere. Can you honestly keep your word that you can slay a dragon when you're staring one in the eye? And can you slay a dragon, knowing that a dragon is your ally?"

I couldn't actually respond to that… he was making me utterly heartbroken, right from the get-go. There was nothing I would've liked better for him to have simply ended it there and left me with my thoughts… but to my dread, there was still more.

"So do you know, now, why I've chosen you to join my team?" he questioned again, his mood delving away from that former misery, but still sounding somewhat serious.

"I'm afraid I don't," I admitted. "I'm not really sure how what you've told me ties into why I was picked."

He seemed the most harsh with these words: "I chose you… because if I hadn't, then no one else would have."

What? You mean this was just a very long-winded, roundabout way to insult me? I couldn't _believe _ the GALL of that rapscallion! I mean, he could've let me off lightly, but rather than allowing me my peace of mind and blissful ignorance of his sharp tongue, he blatantly tells me right-out that I'm no good! Ohhh, if it weren't for that massive bodyguard of his, I would've taken that man down, Chocobo and all…

"Because someone else might've asked you the same question… and taken your pause as a weakness." …What? "Instead, I see it as intelligence." I… I was stumped. You mean… he… he wasn't trying to insult me? He was… _complimenting _me? "A man who says that he can kill without conscience before he has actually committed the act is a fool," he stated outright. "A man who takes into consideration his morals has the makings of a wise man."

So… so he had been telling me this because he had seen potential in me? How had he known before he'd really even _spoken _to me? Had he sensed it? Was he some kind of mind-reader? God! The ambiguity of that man had me in a whirlwind of questions! Hell, I didn't even know his _name _yet, and already he'd evaluated me as an asset to his means!

And yet… through all of this, he laughed.

"Riles, I believe you will, one day, make a fine soldier—but every man has his beginnings… so perhaps you would like to sit back and observe a real battle before you participate in one, right?" he asked. "Now that I've prepared you emotionally, Bingx here will prepare you mentally—and once you're sure you're ready, we'll all prepare you physically."

"Y-yes, sir!" I answered him eagerly, looking to the man he'd pointed out. Oh, so this Scottish man's name was Bingx, was it? Well, I wasn't sure what he really looked like, but he was in the distinctive garb of a destructive Magic-User… so he wouldn't necessarily be hard to pick out of a crowd.

"Oh, and from now on, don't call me 'sir' if you can avoid it," he told me welcomingly. "Despite my status, I do hate formalities—simply call me Hannibal."

"Yes, sir!" I ejected without even meaning to. It'd just become habit by now… and I flinched back in apology afterwards, even though he still seemed to laugh. He… was an unusual fellow, he was. So very cheerful with his inviting smile, but able to uphold a stoic seriousness with the utmost respectability. Perhaps… this wouldn't be as bad as I'd first thought…

Especially since I heard the others beginning to laugh, themselves.

I actually broke a smile for the first time in what'd seemed like ages with these people. Against all the blonds and that poignant redhead, I felt a little left out with my scraggly black mane—I had to wonder what each of _them _must've felt like at their own initiation… and whether they'd been put to the same test as I had. Maybe I'd ask Bingx later—or even Hannibal, himself.

"Alrigh'," Bingx began, finally slinging an arm around my shoulders and giving me a rough, somewhat playful slap on the back that nearly sent me staggering forward. "Here's the fac's, lad: Hannibal? He's an odd one—never try'n get on his bad siede if y'can help it. Hell hath no fury like tha' tiny li'le redhead." I could almost feel the small man glowing with either embarrassment or pride—whichever, it was well-hidden. "Yamaru (we call 'im Adrian) is an impor' straigh' from Japan—bu' he speaks th'language so well tha' no one doubts he's from aroun' these par's when we tell 'em so." He pointed out the lanky Knight seated atop the dark-feathered Chocobo, who issued me a solemn bow of the head and a tiny "hai" that was scarcely loud enough to be heard. "Noew, Charlemegne over there's an ol' travelin' par'ner a' _his_," he quickly pointed out the Oracle, "so no one really as'ed him any questions abou' whether he was up to i'. An' Azrael? He's Hannibal's ol' man." I suddenly found myself _transfixed _by the massive, mummified rider of the scarlet Dragon. _That man_ was the leader's _father_? Such a gigantic specimen, the predecessor of someone so very… small? It was positively _boggling_! "F'e had 'is wraps off, ye'd be able t'tell the similarities qui'e easily," Bingx continued. "Unfortuna'ely, 'e's go' a condition tha' forces him ta' stay ou'a the sun… so a' nigh', you'll be able t'see an' hear 'im properly."

Looking toward the man atop the Dragon's back again, I could almost sense a sort of frustration in what was visible on his face. A pair of cold grey eyes stared forward doggedly at the passing terrain of grass and forest, narrowed almost angrily… but he could've simply been squinting, now that I think about it. It really was hard to tell beneath the black rags over his face. Perhaps it was partially empathy that I was able to feel sorry for him… but to think that he was still _fighting _with all his disabilities was… unusually noble. I got a strong sense of dignity from him, if nothing else. Whereas he might be useless to someone else, his own son accepted his handicaps and invited him to travel. Already, I was liking the sounds of it. A bunch of collected vagabonds and other various riffraff all fighting in the name of some justice… likely making a mockery of more professional units with better training. Again, I could feel that smile creeping up on me.

"Th'Red Chocobo's Kenji—'e's th'younges' onea' the bunch. The other two're Kanta an' Korin—o'course, Nihon-wha's-his-name gave 'em all their ti'les, an' they won' respon' ta' anythin' else…"

"Oh, you could pronounce my name before, but now it's not even 'Japaneseman', it's Japanese-what's-his-name?" the Knight jeered down at him, his Chocobo offering a similar protest in a colorful squawk.

"Can y'er pie-hole!" the Scotsman bantered back, making me chuckle just a little. "Ye've called me _much _worse, if Ah do recall!"

"I told you to ignore them," Hannibal's voice stated in exasperation.

"Well, you wanted to steal _Shiro _from me!"

"GUYS!" the small one announced, a bit of flush accenting his pallid face. "Cut it out… alright?" he suggested, shrugging a bit in accompaniment. "We're supposed to be working on the _same side_ here—get it?"

"Gomen nasai…" the brunette told him.

"Feh," Bingx replied sharply, though he _did _look properly repentent.

From then on, it seemed as though the rest of the trip might be silent. Besides those two bantering, no one seemed to want to talk—but Bingx eventually _did _get back to explaining to me just who everyone was.

"Th'Behemoth's name is Shadow—a li'le joke, since 'e's a Dark varie'y." As he said this, the creature nudged up against him, and I realized that _he _had been the one the beast had originally been so friendly with before. "Luves me like some keinda' starved animal, 'e does," he murmured afterwards, stroking the beast's fiery mane. "Th'Vampiere's name is Alucard—Dracula backwar's, in case ya' haven' heard tha' one. 'E doesn' seem ta' like people all tha' much, so don' expec' him jus' ta' warm up t'ya, righ'?" He continued on to the final two beasts trailing the team and carrying one member. "Th' Sacre's Minue'. A female, an' the only one on our team, really. She's a fair lass, though—made th'warrior's cut, anahow." He pointed to the dragon. "An' las', but cer'ainly no' least, we 'ave Xexxe. E's a bi' friendly, so Ah hope you're no' afraid a' Dragons—es_pecially _no' goin' inta' this business."

"No sir!" I told him. "I've never been afraid of dragons. Never really seen one in real life (especially not one trying to kill me), but he doesn't scare me."

"Lieke th'man said: stop callin' us 'sir'," he pointed out. "While I'm jus' a bi' less modest than he is, Ah still don' like th'sound of 'sir'."

"Oh… yeah, yeah, sure." I nodded in response to this, offering a nervous little chuckle at the fact. "Bingx is your name—and does anyone else just go by their name?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "Charlemegne'll sometiemes le' ye call 'im 'Charie', bu' tha's abou' it."

"'Charie'?" I repeated, glancing back to the elderly Mediator for a moment or so.

"Aye," Bingx confirmed.

Well, it seemed almost as though yet _another _awkward silence might ensue, but I spoke up after only a few moments of it. "So I hear it takes days to actually get from one city to the next… that's truth, I'd presume?"

He offered a sort of 'tsk'ing noise. "Ye' don' ge' out much, do ye, lad?"

"Truthfully, this is the first time I've left my hometown… I almost feel a little hesitant to break the border."

"Wha'd tha' man say y'were, a Cancer?" he queried rather coldly, a bit of a reprehending look in his eyes. "Ah suppose ye wouldn' be too hasty t'leave y'er home, bu' tha's what travelin's abou'," he reassured. "Believe me—if y'want t'leave on an adventure so badly, ye'd bes' be willin' t'leave behind the life y'once had." His words were rather solemn, now—not laced with that sarcastic accent. "Ah c'n understand i' migh' be a li'le harder for ye, bu' all soldiers face i' a' one tieme er another." Sympathy? Boy, was _that _out-of-character. "Ah'm a Capricorn, m'self—so i' was no thorn in mey side t'start over again… bu' Ah know y'water-goers are a li'le more sensitive'n us earth-types."

Well, that was a little condescending… "Oh, so you're some kind of buff on the subject, are you?" I asked of him. "How good are you at divining personalities?"

"Well, Ah c'n tell ye things abou' the resta' these braggar's tha' they don' even know Ah know." A smile was surely plastering his face—I could see it in those eyes. "Righ' noew, we have a Scorpio (tha's Azrael) or two (if ye coun' the Behem'th), you, a Pisces (th'Dragon), m'self, a Virgo (Charlemegne), a Taurus (th'Red Chocobo), two _more _Capricorns (the _other _two Chocobos), two Sagittarians (the Sacred an' the Vampiere), a Libra (Adrian), an' an Aquarius (our marvelous leader). I's mos'ly Earth-signs, bu' we've go' a' leas' one from every elemen'."

I nodded in understanding, trying to memorize all this. It wasn't difficult—I had an unusually good memory for these kinds of things—but he moved along rather quickly, and some of it seemed a little excessive for someone to know. After all, wasn't he supposed to be busy learning his trade as a wizard and not fiddle-faddling with Astrology in the meantime?

"Tha' gives us an advantage in one way—if there's ever a figh', we've go' a' leas' one unit tha' can do higher damage'n the rest of us." As he explained this, the Behemoth again nudged him almost needily. "Bu' tha's also why we have him," he credited the creature, regaining his swift, sure step rather quickly. Gleefully, the beast offered a bit of a purr, nuzzling up against him again. Well, he was right about one thing—that beast _did _love him.

"Right," I answered, to make sure that he didn't think I'd trailed off at all. "But I've heard all this talk about Bravery and Faith, and I'm not quite sure what they mean, even if I know what it's supposed to do to help." Well, alright, I felt _somewhat _stupid asking him that question, but I had to voice that thought. Otherwise, I'd never get it.

"Y'er Bravery's how much will ye've got," he assured. "How willin' y'are t'charge inta' battle when y'er wettin' yerself on the inside." Though he'd laughed a bit when he said that, I doubt that he'd meant it about himself. All the Capricorns I knew had a lot of pride in their fearlessness. "Faith is somethin' tha' usually is left up t'debate—bu' Ah'll tell ya' the truth, here an' now," he assured. "Faith ain' y'er belief in some God er nothin' like tha'," he explained. "Faith is y'er ability t'trust in _somethin_'. _Anathin'._" He turned toward his leader. "Ah've had faith in mah companions—no' some _God_—so regar'less, Ah'd be considered a person a' high Faith."

"I see what you're saying." Despite the fact that he was a little long-winded, I actually liked listening to him speak—his dialect gave him an interesting voice, and it never seemed to get tiring to hear. That, and he was straight to the point—though he explained the matter thoroughly, he didn't give me any _excess _information; I knew about what I had asked about. Perhaps that was one thing I had liked about a Cap… they certainly didn't seem to waste time.

"Anathin' else b'fore Ah teach y'a few skills?" he questioned airily. He seemed as though an all-knowing sort of fellow, but it really could've just been that he was the master of his trade, like the proverbial Sea Goat was. That Aquarius had been nothing short of the mysterious, mind-trapping entity they were made out to be. Yes, they taught us a bit about our fellows in the classess—especially since they had to explain to us the advantage of a hit to another sign of your element or quad. They'd pick examples out of the room to make fun of, and there were quite a few Capricorns in this business—as well as quite a few Leos and Arians. I wanted to look sophisticated and noble like them, but I was the only Cancer in my class… and it made me feel kind of pathetic.

"Can't think of anything… but I can ask if I do, right?"

He seemed to laugh a bit—perhaps at the question itself, or even at the fact that I was asking him a question as though he might tear my head off. He'd been that way before… I simply had to make sure that that former personality had not been my future companion. Really, he actually seemed kind of… lenient. "S'what Ah'm here for," he replied assuringly.

_The more and more they actually started talking to me, the more I felt like I'd finally have some friends. It's hard being the odd man out; never belonging, never knowing exactly how the blissful people find their so-called 'bliss'. Back then, I would've given anything to have someone I could trust… and it almost scared me, how good they'd been at giving me the cold shoulder. Of course, once I'd gotten past the practical joke, they were… surprisingly easy to become friendly with. Sure, they were a tightly-knit pack, but they'd welcomed me as though I was some kind of newborn pup. I'd finally gotten that break in life and found the people I could forever count on._

_It's a shame good things like that never last._


End file.
